


In which Dave drags Karkat to the pool and teaches him to swim; featuring John Egbert

by PizzaBagelBoy



Series: ==> Dave & Karkat: Be roommates. Have shenanigans. [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Sburb/Sgrub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-02-27 17:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2701067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaBagelBoy/pseuds/PizzaBagelBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So I started watching Free! recently and I just had to write something about swimming. I'm sorry but the thought of Dave and Karkat in matching red swimming trunks is just too adorable to pass up.</p><p>Also John in the next chapter; I decided I'm going to branch out a little and include other characters in some of these fics, since even though it's a Davekat series I don't want it to be exclusively Dave and Karkat. I figured having some other characters and exploring where they are in this AU might mix it up a bit.</p><p>Stay tuned, Chapter 2 coming soon!</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Candy Red Swimming Trunks and Crab Goggles

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TG: hey shitlord guess what  
TG: were going to the fucking pool

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

**== > Karkat: Proceed to flip the fuck out.**

No.

Fucking no. All of the goddamn no. And then some more no served on a gold-rimmed silver platter with a side of no and accompanied by a refreshing diamond-encrusted chalice of fucking no. You are NOT going to the goddamn stupid fucking pool. Unfortunately for you, resident douche Mr Strider can flash step into your room in about two seconds flat and restrain you while he packs your bag with bright red swimming trunks and a pair of goggles with little crabs on the sides. You swear to fuck if he buys you one more thing with a crab motif on it you'll stick your foot so far up his spinal crevice he won't walk straight for a fucking year.

In fact you'd do that right now if you weren't already bundled up neatly in the passenger seat of said douche's car, grumbling to yourself about how pools are stupid and you're never letting him force you into anything like this ever again. Just like every other time he does this. Ever. 

"Quit your whining dude, it's gonna be fun. Besides it's hot as fuck and it'll be nice and refreshing in the water," he says. 

"Oh yeah, I love the smell of sweaty humans splashing around like idiots in the summer. There's nothing I love more than sharing an oversized bath with crying grubs pissing and shitting themselves over the incredible, mind-fucking-blowing phenomenon that is water. There is absolutely nothing else I could be doing with my time right now; certainly nothing as important or even remotely enjoyable as what surely awaits us at the mystical and wonderful land of the public pool."

"Shit, let's be sarcastic. You're gonna look great out there in your candy shorts and your adorable little crab goggles. I hope you like those by the way - you have no idea how hard they were to find. But I did it for you, because I just know how much you love crabs."

You give him a withering look before sinking back into your seat and waiting out the remainder of the trip, wondering if you could survive a fall from a low riding vehicle moving at 60km/h.

***

You take a look at the scene before you.

You stand just outside the change-rooms, uncomfortably exposed in your candy red trunks, crab goggles hanging loose from your neck, towel (emblazoned with a crab, naturally) draped over one arm. Dave stands to your right, looking unnaturally comfortable in a pair of matching trunks, a red and white towel slung over one shoulder, shades ever present on his stoic face. Is he seriously going to keep them on while swimming? You consider that to be a foolish question and keep it to yourself.

In front of you lies what could only be described as pure fucking mayhem. Loud, annoying and greedy little shits run around tackling each other into the pool, fighting over fuck-knows-what, playing stupid human ball games, stuffing their faces and laughing at the lifeguard's vain attempts to maintain order, all while their uncaring human lusii laze around the place; dozing on the grass, sunbathing in their recliners and floating around aimlessly in the pool.

You cast a look of disbelief towards Dave, who simply grins and throws his towel in your face as he sprints ahead and divebombs straight into the deep end. He comes up for air a few seconds later and waves at you.

"Come on Karkat, get in! It's great!" he runs a hand through his now soaking hair, his shades somehow still in place on his stupid grinning face.

You process the fact that you've hardly ever seen Dave smile, and maybe that's the only thing that motivates you to move forward and stand by the edge and look down at him.

"No."

"Awh come on man, it's great, really!"

"No." 

"After all that effort I went through to drag you here?"

"No."

"Even after I got you those sweet swimming trunks and those bitchin' goggles?"

"No."

"Man, you're already all dressed for it and shit. Might as well get in."

"No."

"Why'd you come over here then if you're not gonna get in?"

"Because I don't know what the fuck I'm doing and you're the only person I know here. So I'm staying as close to you as possible without getting wet."

"Awh, is Karkitty afraid of the water? That is actually so goddamn ironic now I think about it. Nice one, Karkles."

"Don't fucking call me that, and I'm not afraid, okay? I just..." you stop yourself a little too late.

"Just what?" Dave leans on the edge of the pool and looks up at you curiously.

"Nothing."

"You can't swim, can you Karkat?"

"Shut up."

"How can you not swim? Didn't they have an ocean on your planet or something?"

"Yes we had a goddamn ocean you stupid shit. But I never went there, okay? I've never even seen the ocean. The caves I was born in and the immediate vicinity around my lawnring was as much of Alternia as I ever saw before my hive got teleported into the Medium. I never got the chance to swim there either, because my planet was full of fucking lava. So no, I can't fucking swim, fuckass. Can we go now?"

"Oh hell no, I'm not letting my best bro get away with not knowing how to swim. Shit's important, yo. Plus it's fun as hell. Come on, get in and I'll show you."

"God fucking damnit Strider, NO."

"You know I can just flash-step behind you and push you in right?"

"But you won't. Because as much as I say otherwise you're not THAT much of an asshole."

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm pretty goddamn stubborn all the same."

You step back as he pushes himself out of the pool and stands next to you.

"Come on dude," he puts his hand on your shoulder. "Let me do this for you. I promise it'll be fun. Hey, I could even get Egbert down here to help if you want? He's an ace swimmer."

You freeze. You haven't seen John since the game ended, and you've been so distracted and preoccupied with Dave's bullshit you haven't even gotten around to sending him a message. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to see him again...

"Alright," you say. "Fine. Call him and I'll do it."

A fresh new grin, less smugness and more genuine happiness, breaks out across Dave's face. You watch as he runs back to where he put your bags and pulls out his phone to call John. You allow a tiny smile to play upon your lips as you see the excitement in him.

Yeah. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started watching Free! recently and I just had to write something about swimming. I'm sorry but the thought of Dave and Karkat in matching red swimming trunks is just too adorable to pass up.
> 
> Also John in the next chapter; I decided I'm going to branch out a little and include other characters in some of these fics, since even though it's a Davekat series I don't want it to be exclusively Dave and Karkat. I figured having some other characters and exploring where they are in this AU might mix it up a bit.
> 
> Stay tuned, Chapter 2 coming soon!


	2. Calling Mr Egbert

**== > John: Gaze out over your domain.**

You gaze the _hell_ out of that domain.

The scene is tranquil; the water is calm, the sky is clear, there isn't a single thing that could possibly disturb y- a beach ball flies towards you and your lightning reflexes just manage to fail spectacularly as you're met with a rainbow sphere to the face. Oh, who are you kidding? The pool is fucking chaotic, as usual. Ever since you started working here, you've been running to and fro, cleaning up after slobs and saving the hapless bozos who dive into the deep end and can't swim. You hardly ever get a quiet moment to yourself just to relax in the gentle summer breeze, and when you do you tend to let your mind wander off.

You wish your friends would come and visit sometime. The road of the life guard is a lonely one, or at least it seems that way since you've whiled away a full week sitting atop this tower (which is totally awesome and has a sweet view) without so much as a text from anyone. You guess you can understand the trolls not visiting, what with them not exactly being comfortable in direct sunlight - Kanaya of course is always with Rose, and you don't think she's left the house in at least a month - but you would have thought some of your human friends would have at least been to the pool once in the last week. Roxy especially - although you suspect the no-alcohol policy has something to do with her absence - you reckon she'd be pretty fun to party with. And of course she'd be in a swimsuit...

You blush and cease that train of thought immediately. A life guard must always be ready for action; no, not that kind of action, goddamnit Egbert get it together. Think about something else. Anything else. Literally anything but Roxy in a bikini, lounging in the pool with a cocktail in hand, sunglasses halfway down her face with her eyes looking seductively at y-

Your phone starts ringing. Thank god, a distraction.

"Hello?" you ask without glancing at the name on the screen. "This is John speaking."

"Yo John, it's Dave." Your face lights up at the sound of your best friend's voice. "Listen, I need you to get your bucktoothed ass down to the pool, pronto. It's an emergency. Code Candy-Blood."

Your face drops a bit as you realise where Dave is. Your gaze drifts across the pool until it inevitably finds a coolkid in bright red trunks and trademark shades, facing away from the water and glancing back occasionally at a certain grumpy looking troll with nubby horns and oh my god are they wearing matching trunks that is so ADORABLE. _Ahem_ , you mean, huh. They're wearing matching trunks. Cool.

"Dave... do you know where I am right now?"

"I don't know man, at home watching lame-ass movies like a nerd as usual? It doesn't matter, just get down here already."

"But Dave, how can I get down there..."

A moment of silence comes from the other end of the line. It appears revelation has dawned.

"John, don't fucking say it."

You almost can't, you are giggling so much. "WHEN I AM ALREADY HERE?!" you burst out laughing.

"John, don't even joke about that tool, you remember damn well how hard he was to deal with."

"I'm sorry Dave, I couldn't resist." 

"No you're not."

"Yeah, not even a little bit."

"Dork."

"Hipster."

"Anyway, for real? You're already here? Where?"

"Dave, look up at the life guard tower."

"No way..."

He lifts his head and stands silent for a moment in what you assume to be complete shock and bewilderment.

"Cool," he says, and waves.

"Wow Dave, so dramatic."

"Shut up man, hurry up and get your ass down here."

"On my way! This is an emergency after all."

You hang up and quickly start climbing down the ladder of your tower.

Code Candy-Blood. Oh man, this is gonna be fun.

***

"Sup, John?" Dave greets you in his usual coolkid way. "Trademark blue trunks, I see."

"Hey, Egbert." Karkat is somewhat less graceful in his greeting. He's probably grumpy about something; oh man what are you saying, it's a Code Candy-Blood. Of course he's grumpy.

"Hey guys!" you say with a cheery smile and a wave. Karkat's mood doesn't lighten, so you turn to him. "So, what's Dave dragged you into now?"

"Apparently I'm learning to swim."

"Wait, you can't swim? Really?"

"Yeah, yeah I can't swim and it's a big fucking deal on this planet apparently so let's just get it over with please?"

"That's the spirit, Karkles," Dave chimes in with a friendly punch in the shoulder.

"Well you're in luck, because not only am I a master prankster through and through, but I was also the best swimmer back in my hometown." You feel the weight of a raised eyebrow from behind Dave's inscrutable shades, and a suspicious look from Karkat. 

"Okay, the best in my neighbourhood," you offer. Nope, shoulders starting to hurt a bit under the weight of all that mistrust. You let out a sigh "... street."

Dave chuckles and Karkat's face seems to lighten up a little bit.

"Right!" you clap your hands together. "Well, let's get started."

The three of you walk toward the shallow end of the pool, and you and Dave hop in, about waist-deep in water.

"Come on, Karkat! Hop in!" you extend your hand to the troll who remains perched on the edge of the pool, arms crossed defiantly.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks.

"Do I smell fear, Karkles?" Dave coos.

"Shut up, Strider." Karkat slowly unfolds his arms and reaches out tentatively to take your hand. You lower him into the water gently, and you see him shiver as a chill runs up his spine. "Fuck, it's cold!"

"Yeah, because it's summer numbnuts," Dave teases. A swift glare from Karkat seems to shut him down, at least for a little while.

"Alright! So, first thing's first. Can you float?" you ask.

"I don't know, I've never been in this much water before."

"Well, no time like the present! Just walk out into the deep end until you're up to about your chest. Then just take the weight off your feet and lean forward; tuck your arms and legs in and just let yourself hang in the water."

Karkat peers at you. "And what if I can't float?"

You offer him a shrug. "Well, you stand up! And then we try something else. Don't worry, if anything happens you've got your resident life guard extraordinaire standing by to be a total hero and save you!" You stick both of your thumbs out and point to yourself, offering a wink and a grin.

After giving you a look that just screamed 'are you fucking serious?', Karkat turned and slowly began to wade into the deep end of the pool, holding his arms above the water and looking very uncomfortable as the cold water crept up his skin. Eventually he reached chest height and stopped. He began to lean forward and tuck his arms and legs under him. To your and Dave's delight, he stayed right there, floating peacefully in the water. A few moments passed before he stuck his limbs out and started flailing frantically, eventually finding his feet and breaking the surface with a gasp.

"FUCK!" he cries, panting and trying to even out his breathing. You hope your boss wasn't in earshot of that.

"That wasn't very long bro, do trolls have small lungs or something?" Dave asks.

"Fuck you Strider, we have perfectly normal lungs."

"What, did you forget you needed to breathe then?"

Karkat's face turns bright red - more out of anger than embarrassment, you think - and starts towards the coolkid, splashing water as aggressively as he can.

You laugh as Dave dives forward and swims straight past Karkat, giving him a nice shower in the process, and shake your head. "It's going to be a long day."

***

The sun had shifted in the sky and was now casting shadows towards the east. It was getting near 4:30pm and the pool was going to close soon. Karkat had learnt some basic strokes and was currently practicing freestyle up and down the pool, while you and Dave sat on the edge of the pool near the deep end, dangling your feet in the water and enjoying a couple of ice creams.

"Hey, Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Karkat mad at me or something?"

Dave shrugs. "I don't know, man. He's mad all the time. Why?"

You turn your cone around in your hands, looking down. "I don't know, he just seems a little... weird around me?"

Dave takes another lick of his fast-melting scoop. "Maybe it's because you haven't spoken to him since the game ended?"

You feel a pang of guilt in your gut. He was right; you and Karkat hadn't even seen one another since you were all deposited back on a renewed Earth.

"Yeah... I don't know, I guess I never considered that. You always tell me about him and what's going on, so I sort of felt like I was talking to him through you? I don't know, I guess that sounds like a pretty lame excuse..."

"Not gonna lie Egbert, it kinda does."

"It's not like I don't want to talk to him!" you protest. "I just... I guess it is a little weird? Readjusting to a normal life, but with the trolls and everything. I guess it's just a bit strange that we're not fighting monsters on a daily basis and being in fear for our lives. Makes it hard to remember to do... normal things."

"Like talk to people?"

"Yeah. I guess I just keep expecting Pesterchum to go off like it usually does, because there's something someone needs to tell me, some abstract game construct that needs dealing with, anything."

"We've all got lives of our own now, John."

"I know!"

"We all have our own things to do. Not as much time to talk as we used to."

You look down at your ice cream, almost fully melted in your hands now. You don't even feel like eating it. Dave finishes his off, wipes the crumbs off his lap and then turns to you.

"Look, John, I don't mean to make you feel bad. It's not your fault - it's on all of us to talk to each other, to keep friendships going. And hey, we haven't done too badly so far, have we?"

You think about everything that's happened in the last few months. "Yeah, I guess we haven't."

You look up to give Dave a smile, only to meet one of his own. "Don't worry about it John. We've all got our own lives now, but they're long and I think we can make do with that. Take it from me; we'll make time for each other." He puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "All of us."

You can't help but grin. "You always were good at that timey-wimey stuff weren't you?"

"As good as I had to be." Modest. Just like a knight - how noble.

" _Swoon_ ," you say playfully, leaning into him and nudging his shoulder with your head.

You finish up your ice cream and wipe off your hands just as Karkat finishes a lap.

"Hey, fuckasses. Want to get off your oversized chagrin tunnels and do a lap with me before they close?"

Dave offers Karkat a stoic shrug. "Sorry dude, just ate ice cream. Can't swim for an hour, I might get stomach cramps."

Karkat rolls his eyes. "Get in the pool, Strider!" he yells as he grabs Dave's ankle and pulls him in. You barely have time to wipe the splashed up water from your eyes before Dave and Karkat are pulling you in too.

You surface and take a deep breath, laughing and splashing at Dave and Karkat.

Yep, this is pretty much the best day of summer yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all, sorry this is so late! I've had a lot going on recently - I've had job interviews, I went camping, I've been hanging out with my SO quite a bit and my VCE results were released this morning... so I haven't really had a lot of time for writing. I tried to make it up though by making it a bit of a bigger chapter. Hope you like it!
> 
> I should also say that I can't actually swim myself, and so I have no idea how swimming works or how to write it. The bit where John is teaching Karkat to float, I took mainly from Free! where Makoto and Nagisa are teaching Rei to swim. So if I've written it poorly (or completely wrong) and you have a suggestion to make it better, please leave a comment and let me know! Other than that, I hope you liked the addition of John this chapter. Fortunately I find it fairly easy to write from his perspective - as the everyman character in Homestuck he's fairly easy to channel; just write normally and add extra dorkiness and you've pretty much got John!
> 
> I'm pretty happy with this chapter overall - I thought I'd slip a little sadstuck in at the end (sorry about that) just to deal with the fact that John and Karkat haven't spoken at all since the game ended, but I wrapped it up with some positive reinforcement from Dave just to give it a happy ending! Because no-one likes sadstuck. It's far too sad ='(
> 
> Sorry again this was so late, I'll have something new for you soon! Byeeee!
> 
> P.S Can I just say as well that the attention these fics have received is overwhelming; it might not be that much in the grand scheme of things, and when compared to much larger and more popular fics, but for an aspiring writer like me who's never had this much of an audience before (and usually has trouble keeping up with regular content and not giving up, I don't know if you noticed) it's absolutely amazing and all the lovely comments you guys have left have really boosted my self-esteem and it just makes me want to keep writing! So thank you all and I'm so glad you like my stuff! You're all fantastic! ^.^ <3


End file.
